’Hawks soaring in the classroom

Fort Lewis women’s basketball puts two on Academic All-District

Fort Lewis junior guard Ashley Kuchar and her 3.95 grade-point average in psychology landed on the Academic All-District 6 team.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald file photo

Alex Easterbrook has a 4.0 grade-point average as a psychology major, landing her on the Academic All-District 6 team in her senior year at Fort Lewis.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file photo

Add a couple more to whats becoming a long list of academic accomplishments for the Fort Lewis College womens basketball team.

Alex Easterbrook and Ashley Kuchar became just the second and third FLC players to earn Capital One Academic All-District 6 honors for Division II as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The only other Skyhawk to earn such an academic distinction was Audrey George, who was an All-District 7 third-team choice in 2009-10.

We are extremely proud to have two players on the Academic All-District team, Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a news release.

Easterbrook, a senior guard from Scottsdale, Ariz., has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a psychology major. She earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic honors for a third consecutive year, picking up her first selection to the first team last month after being a two-year honor roll choice.

Kuchar, a junior guard from Provo, Utah, carries a 3.95 GPA in psychology with a coaching minor. She also was an RMAC All-Academic first-team selection last month after earning an honor-roll nod as a sophomore.

Both Alex and Ashley are more than deserving as they work extremely hard in both the classroom and on the court. On top of that, they are great people, and we are so happy that their hard work and dedication have been recognized, Flores said.

Its the latest in whats becoming a stellar line of results in the classroom for the womens basketball program. The 2011-12 season marked the fourth in a row with FLC receiving WBCA Academic Top 25 distinction, as the Skyhawks had the eighth-highest team GPA in Division II. The year before, FLC led the nation in all divisions with a 3.715 GPA.

The Academic All-District teams are selected from eight geographic districts across the U.S. and Canada. First-team All-District honorees, including the Fort Lewis duo, will advance to the Academic All-America ballot, from which three teams will be selected later this month. Easterbrook and Kuchar will look to join former FLC athletes Frank Atherton (football), Berekk Blackwell (mens soccer), Stephanie Janes (softball), Tad Layman (football), Matt Morris (mens basketball), Ryan Ostrom (mens basketball), Christine Schmelzle (womens soccer) and Dee Tennison (football) as Academic All-Americans from Fort Lewis.

The RMAC picked up five of the six slots on the Division II, District 6 team. Joining Easterbrook and Kuchar were Alyssa Lopez of New Mexico Highlands and Colorado Mesas Katrina Selsor and Kelsey Sigl.

heraldsports @durangoherald.com

’Hawks soaring in the classroom

Fort Lewis junior guard Ashley Kuchar and her 3.95 grade-point average in psychology landed on the Academic All-District 6 team.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald file photo

Alex Easterbrook has a 4.0 grade-point average as a psychology major, landing her on the Academic All-District 6 team in her senior year at Fort Lewis.